Herds of wildebeest cross a river in the Masai Mara. Every year hundreds of thousands of wildebeest make the crossing from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara game reserve to graze during the migration. by Carl De Souza

An African ‘white elephant’ has coated itself in mud at a watering hole in the Etosha National Park in Namibia. by Schalk Van Der Merwe

Nat Geo Merit Winner: White Rhino’s by Stefane Berube The night before this photo, we tried all day to get a good photo of the endangered white rhino. Skulking through the grass carefully, trying to stay 30 feet away to be safe, didn’t provide me the photo I was hoping for. In the morning, however, I woke up to all three rhinos grazing in front of me. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Uganda.Picture: Stefane Berube/NatGeo

Photo and caption by Hamish Mitchell / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest Captured in Kruger National Park in South Africa, this lion was one of four coalition males that had made an elephant kill during the night. For four days they fed on their prey, and this beautiful male was ready for a nap after filling his belly.Picture: Hamish Mitchell

Nat Geo – Merit Winner: A Night at Deadvlei by Beth McCarley “The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh.” The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry.”Picture: Beth McCarleyFacebook Page

Two one year-old Alaskan bear cubs play in the sand in the McNeil River, AlaskaPicture: Rex

A scared hippopotamus dives into a river to escape a pack of lions who were feeling peckish in South Africa’s Karongwe Private Game ReservePicture: MORNE HAMLYN/ CATERS NEWS

This antelope cheated death by escaping the clutches of a hungry cheetah – even though the fearsome predator had sunk his claws into its flank. The adult hartebeest was grazing when the cheetah – after slowly stalking closer to its prey – chased after the grassland antelope. The spotted predator was able to sink its claws into the fully-grown hartebeest before it lost its grip and the animal made its lucky escapePicture: Manoj Shah/Solent News & Photo Agency